The Accursed Pirates Set Sail

I awoke to a foot in my face. My gaze followed the smooth, bare leg up to Pippa. She was fast asleep in her white underwear.

She wasn’t the only one beside me. I glanced around and saw that my entire crew was fast asleep on my bed. Several arms were draped over me. Unlike Pippa, at least the others had bothered to keep their clothes on.

I glanced over to the mirror hanging above the mantle. Black cat whiskers and a poorly drawn eyepatch were inked on my face. Clearly, the girls had a bit too much fun last night.

I let out a large sigh just as the door to my room slowly opened.

Kaguya popped her head into the room and looked over at me, surrounded by my sleeping crew. Her eyes widened briefly, and I quickly raised a finger to my lips, signalling her to stay quiet. I didn’t want her to wake up my crew just yet.

I slipped from the grasp of Túta, Elora and Viola, careful not to wake them, and quietly tiptoed over to her. She led me out of the room, and I closed the bedroom door behind me.

“I came to let you know that breakfast was ready,” she replied, her eyes devoid of emotion.

“Oh, not curious about what I got up to?” I teased.

“Not really. Why would I care?” she responded with a shrug.

“I just figured you’d be curious about what I was up to.”

She sighed.

“Do you think I, the person unfortunate enough to have the Seduction Skill, would judge a person based on as little information as a group of people lying in a bed together?”

“Well, thanks, I appreciate it.”

She paused for a moment before bursting out laughing.

“Sorry, it’s hard to take you seriously with that ink on your face.” She took a moment to collect herself.

Oh, right. The ink.

“If you are interested in joining these antics, I would love to invite you to join my crew,” I responded, holding out my hand to her.

She glanced at my hand.

“Pass, I don’t want to be a pirate. I want to go home.”

I put a finger to her lips and winked.

“I figured you’d say that, but if you ever want to be a pirate, let me know. I’ll welcome you right away.”

Her face turned red and her mouth began to quiver nervously. Before she could respond, we were interrupted.

“Breakfast?” the sleepy voice of Pippa mumbled from behind.

I turned to see my crew watching us.

“You’re not seducing people while we were sleeping, were you, Captain?” Túta asked, her face twisted in mock anger.

“Is my body not enough?” Viola teased.

“If it were enough, he wouldn’t have groped me,” Raizel added, running a finger down her chest.

“You naughty boy, Cap’n,” Mel joked, waving her finger back and forth as she tried not to laugh.

“Rather than get mad at me, I should be mad at you. Who drew this on my face?” I shouted back at them.

The entire crew shuffled about and looked away.

Raizel smiled and raised her hand.

“I didn’t draw on you, Captain.”

“Good girl, Raizel,” I replied, going to pat her head.

“Don’t go sucking up to him! You were the one who supplied the ink in the first place!” Elora tattled, grabbing Raizel by her gold-ringed earrings and yanking her away.

“Well, technically, I stole that ink, so it wasn’t mine,” she responded proudly whilst being dragged away.

I sighed.

“I mean, an eye patch on my one good eye?” I wasn’t mad; I was just disappointed.

“I thought it looked cool,” Pippa sulked.

“Pippa… how would I see?” I jokingly asked her.

“With your dark curse powers,” she replied, covering her eyepatch eye.

I sighed again.

“And cat whiskers?!” I continued.

“I thought it was cute,” Melody mumbled, avoiding eye contact.

Her confession genuinely shocked me. I expected it from the others, but not from her. Did she resent me for leaving her with my classmates yesterday?

I turned and faced her with a disappointed expression.

“Et tu Melody?”

The scolding of my crew was interrupted by Kaguya’s laughter.

“You’ve got quite a lively crew.”

I quickly washed off the ink on my face, and we wandered into the dining hall, where an extravagant assortment of breakfast options was available. My crew ran to the table, drooling.

Before I could join them, I felt a hand on my shoulder.

I turned to see Kenji.

“I’ve got something for you,” Kenji commented.

“Don’t tell me it’s a kiss goodbye?” I teased back.

He whacked me over the head with the newspaper he was holding before handing it to me.

“What’s this?” I asked, glancing at the rolled-up newspaper whilst poking him repetitively with the curved part of my hook.

“Have a look, you still have one good eye, don’t you?”

One day, I swear I’ll kill this bastard.

I glanced down at the newspaper. A couple of the classmates crowded around to have a look. They gasped at the sight. Miss Reiden turned pale and looked like she was about to pass out. Meanwhile, a smile crept up my face as I folded it back down.

“Thanks, Kenji, for showing me. I guess I’ll be off.”

“Don’t die before I kill you,” he responded with a smirk.

“Alright, crew, it’s time to go!”

“But food?” Pippa pleaded with puppy dog eyes.

“We’ll eat on the ship.”

“You don’t have to leave. Stay with us, we’ll find a way home,” Miss Reiden responded, extending her hand out to me.

“If you all want to go back, that’s fine. But I’m not going,” I replied.

“I can’t return without you. You are my student.”

The look on her face suggested she wasn’t going to take no for an answer.

“I was your student, I’m not anymore.”

“But your mother and father are probably worried sick about you.”

Of all the things she said, this was the one to make me laugh.

“They wouldn’t even notice me missing,” I responded earnestly.

“I’m sure they care about you,” Miss Reiden replied, looking concerned.

I shrugged.

“You’re terribly mistaken.” I looked her dead in the eye. “Miss, you’ll have to be prepared to drag me back from the pits of hell, because this is my home. My crew is my family, I’m never going back.”

“If dragging you back is what’s needed to show you that you have a place with us, then I will.”

Her look was equally serious.

I turned to Pippa. “Warp us!”

“Aye, captain,” she responded, and she began to glow.

I instantly felt the blood rush to my head. If I hadn't gotten used to the nausea of time resetting or fought so many times to stay conscious on the brink of death, I would have likely passed out.

The next moment, we were back on the deck of the Ravager.

“What’s got you in such a hurry?” Túta asked.

“I’ll tell you after we set sail.”

“Aye captain.”

The crew rushed about preparing the ship, and several minutes later, we set sail.

“So why the rush now?” Túta asked.

“Can we have breakfast?” Pippa chimed in, still sulking.

“Let’s all go in to talk.”

The crew promptly followed me below the deck into the living quarters.

“Alright, everyone, gather round.”

They gathered around the wooden table, sitting on the round stools.

“I’m getting worried, this isn’t like you,” Túta commented.

“As you all know, I’m not from this world.”

“Yeah, we know,” Viola added, nodding her head.

“Well, I think it’s time I let you know my past.”

“I would lie if I said I wasn’t a little curious,” Elora mumbled.

I opened up about my past life, the world where I was a failure in every sense of the word. I told them how everyone had given up on me, and perhaps most importantly, about all the trauma that still haunted me.

“Back in my old world, my mother said I would never amount to anything.” I stood up from the table. A smirk crept across my face. “Well, mother, this is my… no… our worth!”

I slammed the newspaper down. The crew gathered around and stared at the front cover.

Wanted Dead or Alive:

The Accursed Pirates

The Accursed Captain Lark: 500 Gold

Pink-Haired Pippa: 100 Gold

Torture Medic Túta: 50 Gold

Elora the Bloodbath: 70 Gold

Haunting Voice Viola: 50 Gold

Drunk Eyes Melifina: 70 Gold

Mimic Rogue Raizel: 50 Gold

Cabin Girl Melody: 5 Gold

▪──── X ────▪

End of Part 1